Mobile phone production in India may touch 500 million in two years: DoT

Thanks to the conducive environment created by government, local mobile production is slated to grow exponentially.

A row of Galaxy S6 edge smartphones are seen on display at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona March 1, 2015.REUTERS/Albert Gea

Just a few weeks ago, the Telecom Ministry had said India's phone production had breached the 100 million unit mark in 2015. Now, the Department of Telecom (DoT), has revealed India will manufacture as many as 500 million handsets in a couple of years.

"The number of phones being manufactured was 10 million sometime ago, (which increased) to 45 million last year and 100 million this year. The time has come when we will reach 500 million, maybe in two years," PTI quoted Telecom Secretary J S Deepak as saying.

This is a plausible estimate from the government, considering more than 20 mobile phone-makers, including market-leader Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Lenovo and Micromax, have commenced production of handsets in India.

Just a few days ago, Chinese consumer electronics major, Lenovo had pledged to manufacture locally more than 50 percent of its mobile phones sold in India in 2016. Lenovo, in collaboration with supply partner Foxconn at Sriperambudur, Tamil Nadu, assembles the company's Vibe-series phones and its subsidiary Motorola's Moto-series phones to cater to local demand.

With double-digit growth rate expected to continue a few more years and the incentives offered by Central and regional state governments, smartphone-makers have a very conducive environment in India to manufacture devices locally.